Embrace
by BeCreative4
Summary: Third installment of the "Changes" trilogy. Everything seemed like it was finally perfect; Ally had accomplished the impossible task of making Austin fall in love with her. But when problems from Ally's dream arise, she sacrifices herself for Austin, which results in her losing her memory. Now it's Austin's turn to help Ally rediscover their love, but it's going to be a lot harder.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **_Hi, everyone. :) We're back for the third and final book of the Changes trilogy! Hope I didn't make you wait too long. I just want to say how much I appreciate you guys sticking with me through this, it means the world. I hope you enjoy this first chapter. x_

_My Twitter: **didoyousayashton **My YouTube: **BeCreative4**_

* * *

**DISCLAIMER:** _I do not own Austin &amp; Ally, nor am I associated with Austin &amp; Ally._

* * *

I stare at the small pile of papers in front of me. They've been in the bottom of my desk drawer, away from any other eyes but my own. Some of them are wrinkled, from where they've been shoved in my pants pocket, or wallet, or any number of places. Some of them are as good as new, pulled straight from the pile of paper in the printer in my dorm. Nonetheless, it's a pile of papers that I value. The page on the top is labeled, written in the neatest handwriting I could muster.

_The List of Things I've Learned About Ally Dawson_

I once joked with Ally about writing a list of things I had come to know about her, the day I took her out for lunch after she had caught Cassidy and I almost doing to deed the night before. I don't think she ever thought I'd actually do it, though, so I never acted like I was serious. The truth is, I was only going to write down the two things I had mentioned to her that day, but as time went on, and I got to know her more and more, the list grew, and now here it is before me. I'm afraid to open it now, but I'm desperate. I need to remember what she was like before she lost her memory. I have to.

It's been about a week since she woke up in the hospital. Like the coward I am, I haven't gone back. It's not much different, Trish tells me... She doesn't know anyone, not even her own father.

With a shaky hand I finally manage to reveal the first page on the list.

_She asks too many questions. It's kinda cute._

Just as expected, I feel a pang in my chest, and I'm unable to go on. I close the drawer with a slam and grip my hair in my hands, once again unable to believe the life that I'm living. I pace the room back and fourth for a few minutes, occasionally kicking the side of my bed in frustration. I eventually calm myself down and open the drawer once more, contemplating whether I should read on, but I know I'm just not ready yet. I shake my head slowly and close it, allowing a tear to fall on the first page before it's shut all the way.

I flop back on my bed, spread eagle. I'm still pissed at the fact that everything was okay for once, and then everything had to just get ruined all over again. Ally's been through a lot to make me fall in love with her, and now her efforts are meaningless, because here I finally am and she's the one left behind this time. It sucks.

I hear a very light knock on the door, and I sigh as I approach it. "Who is it?" I call out, something that I've learned to do from now on.

"Dez." My best friend answers from the other side. He's been visiting me at least once a day while I've kept myself locked in this room. He's offered to move back in with me so many times, but I know he's happier where he is now, and I don't want to take that from him even if it means that I'm beyond lonely most of the time.

I unlock the door to reveal Dez, a coffee from Starbucks in his hand. He hands it to my tentatively, and I take it, murmuring a quick thank you before letting him come inside and locking the door behind him.

"How you doing, buddy?" He asks, patting me on the back as if I were a child.

I shrug. "Fine." He knows I'm lying, it's obvious by the dark circles under my eyes and the slouch in my shoulders. I've gotten maybe five hours of sleep in the past week, and it's starting to get to me. Every time I close my eyes, though, I see Ally get shot all over again, and I just can't bring myself to deal with it. "How's she doing?"

He frowns. "Maybe you should come by the hospital and find out for yourself. Everyone wonders where you've gone to."

I sigh, setting my coffee down on my nightstand. We've had this conversation at least three times before. "I can't do it, Dez. I'm just not ready yet."

"She gets released from the hospital tomorrow," he tells me, "she's going to be living at her house, her dad pulled her out of college temporarily." He scrapes his shoe against the floor. "And I think I should probably tell you something else, too..."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Spit it out, Dez."

"Elliot's been at the hospital," he sighs, "trying to get her to remember him."

"What!" I shouted, tossing my hands up in the air. Dez takes a step back from me. "He can't do that! He's not her boyfriend anymore! He'll try to feed her all these bullshit lies-"

"Austin," Dez interrupts me, rubbing his temples, "calm down. I don't think it's necessary, but I've been keeping an eye on him for you. All he does is talk about when they were kids and stuff, he never mentions when they were dating."

"What does she say?" I ask curiously.

He shrugs. "Doesn't remember."

I'm not surprised. She doesn't remember anything. She doesn't remember the time she babysat me at a party when I was drunk, or the time we slept on the roof together, or the time I came to New York for her, or when I met her dad, or anything. It's all gone.

I feel myself starting to tear up again and Dez sighs, pushing me to sit on my bed. He sits beside me on the mattress and pats my back while I sob into my hands. This happens a lot lately, I just get really emotional and Dez just tries his best to comfort my until I get all cried out. And then he tells me to take a nap, tells me he'll come by and see me tomorrow, and then he leaves. I won't ever be able to nap, though. I'll just drink the stupid Starbucks and stare at the wall until my eyes hurt. And then I'll do the same thing all over again tomorrow. It was a never ending process, it seemed. I hoped I could get over it soon so that I could fulfill my promise to myself, about making Ally remember me.

I finally stopped crying, and Dez stood up. "Alright, buddy, I better go now. Take a nap, okay?" He heads towards the door, but looks back at me with his hand on the knob. "I'm bringing Ally with me tomorrow, so just be prepared." He leaves without giving me time to respond to him, and I groan, falling back on the bed.

Whether I was ready or not, it was time to stand up and do what I needed to do. It wasn't going to be easy, but there had to be a way.

* * *

**A/N: **_Please **review, favorite, and follow **if you liked this! :) I love reviews, and you! xxxx_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **_This is short and kinda crappy but the next chapter is gonna be awesome just wait._

_My Twitter: **didyousayashton **My YouTube: **BeCreative4**_

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: **_I do not own Austin &amp; Ally, nor am I associated with Austin &amp; Ally._

* * *

She sits at my desk chair, awkwardly scraping her foot against the ground. Dez stares at me with his arms crossed, expecting me to say something, but honestly, what does he expect me to say?

He showed up with Ally on my doorstep a few minutes ago, as promised, but I had completely forgotten about it up until it happened. I hadn't showered or anything, it looks like I just rolled out from a coffin. It's kind of embarrassing.

"Well, are you going to say anything?" Dez asks me with a flick of his hand, and I shrug nonchalantly.

"I love you." I say to her coolly, because that's really all I can tell her at this point. She looks away from me quickly and back down to her feet, her cheeks a deep shade of red. If looks could kill, I would be dead right now thanks to Dez.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Dez hisses, "_Outside?"_

I sigh and get up, following him to the door. I can tell he's mad, but I could honestly care less at this point. I love Ally and that's all I really know at this point, besides the fact that she doesn't love me back.

"Yes?" I sigh once I shut the door behind me.

"Dude, you can't just hit her with that right away! Are you insane?" He hits a hand to his forehead, and I feel the blood bubbling inside of me.

"Why do you care so much, Dez?" I snap, "Stop acting like her older brother or something, holy shit! You don't have to baby her, she's tough. If anyone would know that, it would be me."

Dez's face gets red, and I'm kind of surprised he doesn't punch me. "You want to know why I care so much? Because I'm pretty much all she's got right now besides _Elliot _who you don't want around her! You never came back to he hospital, you never made any effort at all, and you expect everything to just be okay? It doesn't work like that. While you've been sitting on your ass I've been at the hospital trying to tell her stories and stuff like that. She needs a friend right now, and that's what I'm trying to do. So you can shut the hell up about 'babying her', because that's exactly what she needs, asshole!"

I'm feeling pretty small by the time he finishes ranting, and I just run a hand over my face and sigh. "I deserved that."

"Yeah, you did." He shrugs.

"I'm gonna make this right, I promise... It's just really, really hard." I feel my lip begin to quiver.

Dez sighs. "I know dude, but you have to get over it. For Ally."

"I know." I whisper.

He smiles and pats me on the back. "So, go back in there. I'll be out here waiting, whenever she's ready to leave. Okay?"

I want to tell him that I can take her home, but I know now that Dez is the only one she's comfortable around at this point and I can't do that to her. So I slowly agree before going back into the dark dorm to face my fears.

* * *

**A/N: **_Woohoo Dez you tell him. Hahaha. Don't forget to **review, favorite, and follow! **xxxxx_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **_Hey, guys! I'm at home sick today so I decided to go ahead and do some writing since I've been keeping you all waiting forever. Hope you can forgive me! I may do one or two more chapters today as well. Enjoy!_

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: **_I do not own Austin &amp; Ally, nor am I associated with Austin &amp; Ally._

* * *

I step into the dorm, head down, afraid to make eye contact with her and ashamed for throwing my feelings in her face this soon. I realize I've probably turned her away from me at this point, and Dez has knocked some sense into me. I've done all the wrong things and the only person I can blame for her distance at this point is myself. I have to try a different approach.

I sit back down where I was. She has continued the movement of scraping her foot across the floor in my absence. She won't look at me, so I clear my throat. She gives in and I meet her eyes, dark brown and beautiful. She is so beautiful.

"I'm sorry." I say, to go ahead and get that out of the way. I feel like I'm apologizing for more than just telling her I love her five minutes ago. It's a lot more than that.

She shrugs, but doesn't say anything. I don't want to have to force her to talk but she hasn't said a word to me the whole time she's been here. I decide that maybe it's me that needs to do the talking first.

"I'm Austin Moon, I'm twenty years old. I come from a wealthy family and I was a teachers' pet in high school. Everyone loved me. When I got to college I went crazy. I started partying. I drank, I smoked, I slept with more girls than I can count. I hated my roomate, you've already met him. His name is Dez. My sophomore year I had a dream one night that would end up changing my life forever... I would never go back and change that for the world. Now I'm a different person. I'm no longer Austin Moon, likeable rich kid. I'm not Austin Moon, crazed college kid. Hell, I'm not even my favorite version of myself: Austin Moon, hopelessly in love with the girl that loves me. Now I'm Austin Moon, hopelessly in love with the girl that _loved_ me..." My voice cracks, and I take a moment to compose myself and run a hand through my hair. "I know you don't understand, and to be honest I'm not sure that you ever will. I know that you're probably confused and a little bit frightened or weirded out by me, but you have to understand one thing, Ally: I truly do love you. I will not impose my love on you, and I will not force you to try and believe me. However, I will wait for you until the end of time if that's what it takes. If you ever start to wonder what happened, or what is happening, I will be here. And if you want, we can start now. We can sit right here in this shitty dorm and I will tell you every single detail, from what I know and from what you've told me before, about us. And if you don't want to, that is fine. Like I said, I'll wait. Just tell me the word and I'll let you leave right now. It's totally up to you."

I'm a little bit surprised when I see the corner of her mouth twitch into a small smile. "Alright." She says, the first thing I've heard her say in what seems like forever. _Alright. _I don't know that I'll ever be able to get the sound of her voice out of my head.

But what does that mean?

"Alright?" I asked tentatively. I needed more explanation.

"I mean... From what I've heard from everyone else you're most definitely telling the truth about all of this," she sighs, "so I guess the least I could do is listen to what you have to say about all of this. And maybe some day I can understand what has happened to me, but I think for right now I just need to sit back and listen. You know?" I can't help but smile. I felt a warmth in my heart that had been absent in the past few days. "So I'll stay a little while. You may want to go get Dez and bring him in here, he probably doesn't want to sit out in the hall forever."

I hope up and open the door slowly. Dez expects to see Ally, so I can see the look of surprise on his face when his eyes meet mine. "Come on in, it may be a while." I tell him. He just smiles.

Once back inside, all of us seated, I put my hands together and move them up and down for effect. "So," I say, "where do we begin?"

* * *

**A/N: **_Don't forget to **review, favorite, and follow!** I will probably be posting again sometime today if I can find the time to do so. Much love. xx_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **_As expected, another chapter! I actually really like this chapter even though it's sort of just a reminiscing moment hahaha... So, you either love it or hate it. Either way, here it is. xx_

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: **_I do not own Austin &amp; Ally, nor am I associated with Austin &amp; Ally._

* * *

"I was on a road to disaster.

The first eighteen years of my life were spent doing things that would please my parents. I was smart, I was charming, I was everything anyone wanted to be. I had my life set out for me: I woud attend college and go on to do great things... Or so I thought.

I reached The U like an excited kindergartner on his first day of school, and within twenty-four hours my dreams had been beaten in the dirt. I had met my roomate, the infamous Darron Travers. He sort of terrified me, and rightfully so; after all, he would end up being the reason my world was torn to shreds eventually. He took me to my first party. It didn't take many parties before it came a routine... The drinking, the smoking, the sex. I was literally the spitting imagine of a college bad boy. I fit in with the crew. I provided them with the things they needed, via my parents' money, and they gave me a good time in return. And, so I thought, it got _even better_. Darron got kicked out of the University, so all of a sudden I was (sort of) calling the shots. To be truthful, Dallas called the shots, but Dallas couldn't do jack shit without me anyway, so I guess we both did.

Well, in comes Dez. New roomate. No offense, bro, but I hated him. He was a totally nerd, a complete party pooper, and he always stayed up late making these YouTube videos and editing them and everything about him just _really _pissed me off. Well, I guess once I learned to live with him I realized he was alright. More than alright. He's basically my brother now, and the only person I truly cared about. That is, until you stumbled into my life, Ally.

It was a really hot day when I first met you. You had your hair up in a ponytail and you just fell into stride right beside me as I strutted across campus like the douche bag I am. And then I got a good look at you, and I realized I had seen you before. In a dream. You were _literally _my dream girl, even if I didn't know it at the time. At the time, to be honest, I was a little sketched out. Anyways, you tried to hit it off with me. I was shocked. This beautiful little good girl trying to find out if there were any good parties tonight? On a Thursday? Well, I tried to blow you off, but you weren't having it, of course. You were very persistent.

I gave you the address to a party the next night. And, to my amazement, you arrived. I don't remember much from that night because I was drunk off my ass the whole time, but I do remember that you took care of me. And that just really meant a lot to me, even if I wouldn't admit it or act like it whatsoever. In fact, the next morning, I was a complete dick to you and you ended up walking away from me. I came after you: you had forgotten your shoes. I gave them to you, asked you to come to another party the next day. I gave you the address to my house instead of the party, and then you came over and I told you everything and you told me something even more extraordinary: you had dreamed about me too, only it was better. I was shocked, and frightened.

I will not lie to you, Ally Dawson; you frightened me in a way that nothing ever had before. I will never understand why I was so frightened of falling in love, but I was.

You left, and I told you to text me when you made it to your dorm. You forgot, and I got mad. I went to a party the next night. I got drunk, no surprise. I was going to sleep with another girl, and to my amazement, you walked in on us about to commit the deed. You walked out, and I followed you like I always do and always will. You were laying on the roof when I found you, and I climbed out too. We slept on the roof that night. I invited you to lunch the next day.

When I got back to my dorm that afternoon, Dallas was there. He warned me about girls like you, how they would ruin all the fun. Ultimately, he was wrong, but I didn't know it at the time. Dez chewed me out when he left. We got in a huge fight, and I walked out and so did he. I came back and he was gone, but you showed up not long after. And then you told me the truth: you didn't go to college in Miami, you went to college in New York. Not only that, but you had a boyfriend. And you had come down here just to find me.

I did something stupid. Something very stupid. I told you I couldn't talk to you any more, so you were going to leave. You left me a note and told me something I would never forget: _don't let yourself sink. _Dez told me he would give it three days before I would go chasing after you, but I was convinced that I would never see you again. And I came to realize that it really did hurt.

It only took two days.

I packed a bag and headed to New York City after a little encouragement from Dez. I found you, and, guess what? Elliot was there... Your old boyfriend. I'm under the impression he has already begun talking to you. Anyway, he wasn't happy when I began pouring out my feelings to you. Can't say I blame him. He stormed out, and you broke up with him. And then I kissed you for the first time, and it felt like coming home.

My life was changed from that point on. I mean, my life has been changed more times than I can count by now but that was my favorite change.

We didn't spend but a few months together before it all went downhill once more. I should have known because the signs were all there, but I simply didn't see it. Darron showed up at my door, and you volunteered to answer it... And he shot you. And that is why you are sitting in front of me now, probably as confused as you will ever be. I will never be able to apologize to you enough, but I will say it again: I am so sorry.

I will never understand how you were able to walk into my life and turn my whole world upside-down, but I genuinely think there was a plan set out for us since the beginning of time. You and I were meant to be in each other's lives, Ally Dawson. If I have ever been sure of anything in my short life time, it is that."

* * *

**A/N: **_So, did you love it or hate it? Tell me when you **review, favorite, and follow! **:D So, I took a really long time writing this. Did it confuse you in any way or is there anything I can improve? Feel free to give me some feedback. Much love, as always. xx_


End file.
